October 27, 2006

In thinking about today's post, i'm thinking it will be all eyeball related..... yesterday for example, as I am taking Fiona (my Daughter) to preschool, I nearly run over a little bird in the road. It was just sitting there, literally in the middle of the road, so OF COURSE i need to pull over and help it. It was blind in both Eyes, and had a small lump on it's head. I scooped it up and gently put it on the side of the road, it did not want to climb off of my hand, it clung to me. I set it down, and it began to preen itself, and drink some water off of a leaf...so thinking it might have a chance at being helped....I raced home and got a box and a little towel, and came back for her. I could not bear to leave her there knowing she wouldn't make it due to her condition, and could only imagine her being attacked by a cat....so I took her to the local vet and they took her. They told me she had a case of conjunctivitis that was incurable, and she would never see again, not to mention the bump on her head. they chose to put her to sleep humanely. so in the blink of an eye, she was gone. All sorts of animals come into my yard or in my path, I must have some sort of pet karma. I don't know, But I do know I can't let any of them suffer, it kills me ! we have had Rabbits, and turtles, and little mice, and of course numerous birds fly into our life, mostly with happy endings yesterday was not the case. I also have this ongoing sinus/cold thing that makes me feel like my eyeballs might pop out at any moment, and keep watering and looking puffy and swollen. I hate that. Today I have been trying to be very productive, sewing up some table runners,
sewing so fast to get it done I am afraid i will blow a needle, and of course poke my EYE out!

I am also making dotted felt fabric with a bleach pen....this is an easy technique that I will share with you.......you take a piece of WOOL felt and draw circles on it with a chlorox bleach pen, rub in the circles, wait a few minutes (10)
and then wash it off QUICKLY trying not to rub the bleach in any other areas , otherwise it will discolor the felt in places you do not want. then Voila~ you have a piece of felt that will have circles (or any other pattern) in a lighter color on your felt, looks great! The felt colors that work the best are Brown, red, black, and green. the others are o.k. brown turns to rust dots, red turns to orangegreen turns to yellowand black turns to a kind of cream tan color. nice.....But be careful, bleach can Blind you! I know this because I once worked with a man who was blinded in one eye with bleach when he was a child. How do I know this? because he TOOK OUT his eyeball and cleaned it while I was having lunch. it nearly killed me!!! I did not know you could do that with fake eyes, but evidently you can. In fact, it looked much like these little gumballs I assembled yesterday for a customer, aren't they cute?? well, I am off to finish the goods before the kids get home any minute......hope this blog doesn't want to make you CLOSE your eyes!even though that's what I feel like doing!

October 26, 2006

I am going to write this blog early because today I am going to focus on being productive! Lots to do today, shipping off boxes, and printing labels, ordering a few stragglers ,and creating some stuff. wish me luck! On another note....on Saturday we had a family get together with the Thursby family, where of course there is always alcohol flowing.....I am not a big wine drinker, but This wine was delicious. I had 3 or more glasses, yahoo! It is not an expensive wine, definitely a good taster for the price. trust me, those Thursby's know their wine too....we're talking wine clubs and stuff. This is not an upper-crusty type of wine, but Very good! Wine is so nice to take that edge off right around dinner time, when there's lots of screaming and mayhem going on around the household. one glass of wine is a great attitude adjuster for me, and miraculously makes me able to tune it all out! Kind of gross to be talking about wine at this time of morning, when my coffee is still waiting to kick in, but I had to share that with you before I forgot! Speaking of forgetting, which is something I am doing alot of lately, (my tired old brain) If you get a chance, and you are actually READING this, leave me a comment won't you? I didn't want to forget to ask you that.....just wondering if you are out there!well, off to break-up a couple of early morning fights with the kids, and get some cereal in their bellies......that wine is starting to sound kinda nice right about now! it's 5 '0 clock somewhere right? ;)

October 25, 2006

well I woke up this morning feeling like crud, wanting to sleep in just a little bit longer.
I was up all night long with an intermittent nostril clog, and the dog jumping on and off the bed about 500 times.
I asked my friend Ann to come in to work for me today so I could stay home and sleep, but did i do that? NO! That messy basement of mine at the shop has been keeping me up at night and driving me crazy!
we have had sooo many boxes coming in....
opening up new stuff and pricing .....etc. it looks like a bomb went off down there, not to mention, a perfect place for spiders to lurk. So today I was determined to tackle it once and for all!
We managed to get it all put away for the most part, and it only took 6 hours! yay!
Only One spider was found, but that was enough for me. big scream.
I am trying to stay focused and get things accomplished, but feeling like I have way too many things going on at once...this new adventure in Blogging is making me crazy....i am learning new things, and teaching myself new stuff, but getting way too confused about other things, and getting farther and farther away from getting the goods made for the holidays....sooo easy for me to do, since remember, I LOVE to procrastinate. But at least i am learning some new skills!
well, I am off to bed ready to dream about all of the things I want to accomplish tommorow! one can always dream right?

October 24, 2006

Too tired to do much writing, had a long day at the shop moving around and setting up displays
for the Ann Arbor news Ad . A photographer came in and took professional photos, and he says to me "wow, you sure have a lot of Stuff, you must have an amazing computer to inventory all of this" So then Of course I start to panic, and think "do i have too much? have I ordered way too much stuff? is it looking cluttered?" Just another day overthinking things. probably because I am not feeling well. ....... it's official. I was healthy for ONE week, then I have come down with cold number 2...so nice. and it's not even winter yet! well, off to bed to think about otherways I can freak out . just kidding. It's all so much fun really!

October 22, 2006

Taking your husband to Ikea on a sunday anyday is a bad Idea. He Raced me through the place at such a break-neck speed I couldn't take it all in! I admit going there on a sunday is a big no-no. huge crowds, no parking, crazy lines, no room in the aisles etc. but I still managed to enjoy myself, even if rushed! Look at this cute pillow I found for $14! isn't it sweet?I am sure it will only be a matter of time until the dog
chews it, but at least it was not too expensive. I also managed to find some tiny candles for my mexican tin x-mas tree, and some great glass storage jars for Cheap. I will use them to House soaps and other goodies for a new display at the shop. we also got some great wooden shelf brackets for the new shelving I am putting up in the kids room at the store, so you can see all of the great stuff on one wall and it looks tidier. well, this is a short one tonight......I am off to try and get something done, this blog is becoming another way for me to procrastinate! I am enjoying checking out all sorts of other blogs and websites out there, so this could be BAD for me, but truly inspiring and fun!

October 21, 2006

I Love Saturday Mornings,
getting up early getting the kids ready for soccer and ballet, heading to work and brewing a fresh pot of coffee and picking up cookies.....getting ready for all of the happy people coming by the shop to see me....but this morning I was sad....when I came to the store, I saw my big beautiful pumpkin (a $20 pumpkin I might add)
smashed and kicked half way down the street. Why do people have to be so MEAN!!! Down here in downtown we have the sweet people who leave me little fairy
treasures and sweet notes on my tiny doorstep,
and the mean people at night, after the bars let out who take out their angst on my front porch stuff. I have had my cement chickens obliterated in the street, my Big commercial sign that cost a small fortune kicked in, my Red Bike with an adorable wicker basket filled with flowers stolen, and even a Garden Mum literally plucked from the ground and uprooted. what is with these people??? The One great thing is that the good people, the ones with all of their sweet comments , the happy people that come to visit here more than make up for that. Those people are the ones that are just so thrilled that you give them a free cup of coffee and a cookie, so happy to see the little fairy door and garden, so thrilled to pet my dog, or visit my birds...Pierre and Tulip,
or touch the mosaic wall... so content to just come in here and be surrounded by color, and warmth and good music. It's those people that make my Saturday mornings a joy to come to work for....... and help me tune out the mean-spirited pumpkin-bashers....... the one good thing that came out of it was my little local downtown squirrel had a great little lunch.....and upscale $20 lunch...but hey..... I guess he's entitled to a good Saturday morning too!

October 20, 2006

I don't mean to be late, or tardy, or wait till the last minute, but I do it everyday, in every aspect of my life. ....... Rolling out of bed in the A.M.,(8:15) getting my kids off to school,(8:42)& (9:30) getting to work,(10:06) making deadlines,(right down to the wire) I don't know what it is that makes me do this to myself! It drives my husband crazy, and I have to admit, me too. but I just can't help myself. I think unfortunately I work better under pressure. UGH! I spent most of today thinking, talking on phone, planning, and wondering ....if I am going in the right direction....if I have ordered the right stuff ( and enough of it)..mentally re-decorating the shop, and completely avoiding what I needed to be doing, crafting the goods. It wasn't until 2 in the afternoon that I got down to business, and started making EYES
for my birds. By then I only had an hour and 40 minutes until Fiona (the 3 year old) got dropped off from my mom's (we call her Bita) and jackson had to be picked up from school. Then It was time for Playdates, snacks, screams, boo-boos, dog barking, kids flying on skateboards / roller blades, and the general insanity that begins the evening hours. My basket of birds, and pears patiently waiting for me to finish them.......tommorow. because there is Always tommorow, or a little later on!

As Crazy as my life may seem, those children of mine are truly and inspiration for me. They see the little things in life. The tiny stuff. like my son who collects heart-shaped rocks for me, and recently found this heart-shaped GRAPE for me....too sweet
.....or Fiona who carefully inspects each fallen Leaf for color and pattern... who is just Pure joy and boundless energy, and thinks having her face painted is the best thing since sliced bread...(of course her enthusiasm only lasts for about a minute until she is Off barrelling through life onto her next task. usually something truly dangerous.) Today my mom called me in a panic because Fiona had plucked a feather out of her down coat, and stuffed it up her nose, and inhaled. SO nice. Everyday is an adventure here and tommorow will be a NEW day to try and start it all over again....maybe those birds will get wings.....
or that mosaic pot will get a few more pieces of dishes, or maybe some new idea will pop into my head...OR........who knows! maybe I might just be on time for a change! :)xoxo

October 19, 2006

Aren't these pears cute??
I love Pears, bought these, didn't like the color, so I painted them the perfect green and added polkadots, because polkadots make everything so much better! look for them down at the SHop soon! (Figured in somewhere with a holiday display!) I am home today working in my studio
, feverishly trying to make things for the upcoming months, little snowmen, new pillows, dolls, stockings and ornaments.....I am also working on some mosaic pots to fill with topiaries,
and little evergreen plants! Look what came in the other day don't they look just like candy?? i love them!

Exciting news last night! we made it on the evening news on Fox 2 Detroit about the fairy doors! my old wrinkly weathered hand had it's 15 sec. of fame yahoo!

well, off to work to try and be productive and come up with some new things soon!

October 17, 2006

What a day! It was such a cold and dreary day, perfect for placing orders for Christmas! Actually, that's all I have done for the past 3 days......starting to feel a bit panicked about not getting enough art-work produced for the upcoming season, but I have to do it, and Oh how exciting it all is!!! I am like a kid at Christmas, obsessively reading every catalog, tearing into the boxes once they hit the threshold. the UPS man must think I am nuts! I have Shiny things, sparkly things, cozy things, and cute things, vintage-inspired goodies, and modern feeling, and oh-so-sweet smelling things coming! My head is just a buzz at all that's going on! I Finally had to take a break from it all to spend some time with my poor,sweet neglected, children
, we had decorating for Halloween to do! We drove to the garden shop to pick up some corn stalks to decorate the entrance to our house, the stalks were SOOO huge I could barely fit them into the car, I drove like a crazy woman home, terrified that a spider was lurking somewhere in the stalks waiting to crawl into my large hairdo, (thank you Michigan weather!) Then i spotted a huge fallen tree branch, and had to stop and swerve to pick that up too! great for hanging webs and lights from! tomorrow we add lights and more webs for the spiders my kids insist on having! my son bought the nastiest spider that is motion-activated , drops down, wiggles
and climbs back up on his web. basically a heart-attack waiting to happen for me. I will post pics once it's all said and done. Big doin's tomorrow, we will be on Fox 2 news with a little piece regarding our fairy door! so exciting! so if you see a large, old wrinkly hand opening up a tiny doorknob, that's me! my hand will hopefully have it's 15 seconds of fame! I'll keep you posted!

October 15, 2006

I was up early this morning and headed to the antiques market to pick up my handmade sign by my favorite dealer Glory, scored some amazing goodies like a Mexican tin Christmas tree, A little red barn, A little chalkware red riding hood, an old Peanut display case, and some vintage glass tree garland for cheap! I was tempted to buy a little Sta-puf marshmallow man figurine for $15, but passed. I am SURE I will regret that one, since I think that character is so darn cute!I raced home to the shop to drop off the goods, and saw my sink overflowing with brown water and had to call a plumber! thankfully nothing was damaged, just a really clogged drain, and no over-flowage! YUK then i came home to........... My husband gets crazy ideas in his head about how to entertain our childen on weekends, this one involved a corn maze. who ever said those things are fun is nuts. First of all I HATE the idea of being trapped in ANything, (for example most modes of travel make me panic) but the thought of being stuck inside a field of corn made me REALLY nervous. but I thought, o.k., it's a beautiful fall day, think of the kids...we can take the dog, she'll enjoy the walk...etc. etc. well, after 30 mintutes of walking around in there with 2 kids whining, wearing a wool sweater that was starting to itch, and one child wanting to be carried, it wasn't so fun. even the dog was getting tired of it all. we kept going in circles, seeing the same people on the trail asking how to get out...and they we're carrying maps!I was almost ready to just plow through the fields and head for the silos in the distance! All I kept thinking of was how many deer ticks are we picking up? lymes disease?? It was such an amazing JOY to see the exit ramp after about an hour and 15 minutes being stuck in corn-hell! The only good thing was that we had a great donut at Wasems orchard next door afterwards.and I mean, it was literally the BEST donut I have EVER had at an orchard, apple donut with vanilla frosting, YUM! we only had to stand in line for 20 minutes to get it, but we were used to wasting time by this point. We came home after our adventure glad we checked THAT off the list of things to never do again.and passed out at 8p.m! Long, but fun. day!

Disclaimer of sorts...:)

I want you to know up front I am TERRIBLE with email! So If I don't respond to your comments please don't take it personally.
You would literally have to be on fire for me to
pay attention, yes, I am that flaky.
Just know that I appreciate every word you say, and the fact that you took the time to write me, I just may
not have the time to write you back.